New Year and New Adventures…

The day after Christmas I cleaned out my pantry and have been experimenting with new foods over the last week.  My husband, Lee, has decided to join me in eating healthier.  Our boys, Mitchel 14, Gavin 12, Riley 12, Wyatt 12, and Westin 11 are along for the journey since we are the ones buying the groceries for them.  White bread has left our house along with flour and pasta – white and wheat.

I see life as a journey of constantly learning and trying new things.  I don’t see life in black and white…so on that note I’m not saying I will never make carmel rolls again or head up to Nisswa for a scone from Stone House, but I’m moving toward a healthier lifestyle and nutrition is a huge part of my life journey.  I’ve told my boys since they were little I was going to live to be 130.  On my journey I want to rock the IM Kona race course.  My body needs to be in the best physical and mental shape possible.  Fueling my body with best possible foods available can only help me reach my goals.

The day after I cleaned my pantry out I headed to Cosco for my dream mixer…THE VITAMIX.  I first read about the Vitamix in Rich Roll’s book – Finding Ultra.  You really can make the best smoothies in that thing!  Wyatt and I made a spinach smoothie and he couldn’t believe it had any spinach in it. (picture above)

This last Sunday I attempted the Kona bike ride with the LAMS (Lakes Area Multisport Group).  After about an hour into the ride I stopped sweating, became very weak, got a headache, and just didn’t feel “right”.  I got off my bike a few different times, but really didn’t feel any better.  At first I was confused as to why my body would feel this way.  Then I started to put the pieces of the puzzle together.  My body had become use to using the junk I had been eating for fuel and now when I started fueling my body better with good high quality foods it was confused as to where the energy was coming from to keep moving forward.  What I learned from this experience is 1. I should have went to the vending machine and grabbed a coke (actually I wouldn’t have – only on race day) 2.  Our bodies are so very smart and I have to give it time to adjust to the new fuel I am giving it.  

My training has started for my first race of the year – Nisswa half marathon.  A month after that I will be heading to Hawaii for 10 days of training and racing the 70.3 on the last day.  My plan is to use the Hawaii trip to work out any kinks with transporting my bike and the amount of time I want to head out to the Big Island before the race.  

It’s almost 8pm and for me that means BED.  I’m very strict about my sleep.  I will skip workouts to make sure I’m getting enough sleep.  This time of year I’m good with 8 hours, but when summer comes and my training hours tick upward I bump it to 10 hours which usually means napping.

Happy New Year!